Similar to divorce, an annulment of marriage is a court procedure dissolving the bonds of marriage. However, from a legal perspective, an annulment makes it as if the marriage never existed in the first place. It’s the legal equivalent of completely wiping your marriage slate clean.
Why Get an Annulment of Marriage?
A few reasons exist, and all have very different motivations. Some people don’t want the perceived social stigma that could come with a divorce. Others are devout Catholics, and in the event they ever want to remarry, an annulment may be the only option.
The third (and perhaps most common) reason is an annulment of marriage returns both spouses to the status they had before marriage. This includes property ownership and other assets. If you annul a marriage, it’s as if it never happened; meaning you have the same rights to another person’s assets, property and earnings as you would if you had never married this person. Attorneys most commonly use annulment to dissolve short marriages, where the couple acquires very little in the way of joint assets.
Grounds for an Annulment of Marriage
The grounds for a civil annulment can vary a bit by state, but generally speaking, it requires one, or more, of the following reasons:
- Fraud: This also includes misrepresentation. If one spouse concealed or lied about something significant within the marriage, it falls into this category. Example: lying about whether or not they want (or are able) to have children.
- No consummation: If a spouse is physically unable to have intercourse, unbeknownst to their partner, then this can be considered grounds.
- Incest: There are grounds for annulment if the two are too closely related by blood.
- Lacking soundness of mind: This could mean the spouses were too impaired by drugs or alcohol to have known what they were doing. Many Vegas weddings end in annulment as a result of this one.
- Force: If marriage was not consensual, or one party forces the other party in one way or another to go through with it.
- Bigamy: If one spouse was still legally married to someone else at the time of the marriage.
- Underage: Both spouses must have reached the age of consent, as defined by the respective state.
Annulments in Instances Where the Marriage Lasted a Long Time
It’s not common, but it does happen. In these instances, where the couple has accumulated significant assets jointly, there are provisions for dividing it all up. Circumstances and regulations vary from state to state but also include provisions for determining custody, visitation and child support*.
*A note on legitimacy. The courts consider any child born during a marriage, whether annulled or not, legitimate in the eyes of the law.
Looking for a Family Law Attorney in the Alpharetta, Atlanta, or Cumming Areas?
If you need more information about the annulment of marriage, contact one of our Cumming, GA family attorneys. We offer a free consultation.